San Francisco – Winning college journalists in the National Writing, Photojournalism, Broadcast News and Multimedia Championships were announced on June 6, 2013 by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program.

The Hearst Championships are the culmination of the 2012 - 2013 Journalism Awards Program, which are held in 106 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs.

From June 3rd through the 6th, 29 finalists – all winners from the 14 monthly competitions – participated in the 53rd annual Hearst Championships in San Francisco where they demonstrated their writing, photography, radio, television and multimedia skills in rigorous on-the-spot assignments.The assignments were decided by media professionals who judged the finalists’ work throughout the year and at the Championships.Winners were announced during the final awards ceremony on June 6th.The following are the first, second and third-place winners and the scholarships they received:

NATIONALWRITINGCHAMPIONSHIP

First Place, Charles Scudder, Indiana University, $5,000 award

Second Place, Melissa Abbey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $4,000 award

Third Place, Lanny Holstein, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, $3,000 award

NATIONALTELEVISIONBROADCASTNEWSCHAMPIONSHIP

First Place, John Genovese, Arizona State University,$5,000 award

Second Place, Camila Orti, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, $4,000 award

Third Place, Averi Harper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $3,000 award

NATIONALMULTIMEDIACHAMPIONSHIP

First Place, Samuel Wilson, University of Montana, $5,000 award

Second Place, Julia Wall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $4,000 award

Third Place, Sarah Hoffman, University of Missouri, $3,000 award

Five finalists in the Writing Championship, who will each receive $1,500 scholarships, are (listed in alphabetical order):Rachel Janik, Northwestern University; Alex Orlando, University of Florida, Stephen Pianovich, Pennsylvania State University; Faiz Siddiqui, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Claire Wiseman, Indiana University.

The $1,000 Award for Best Reporting Technique went to Alex Orlando, University of Florida, for his article in titled “A Man Looks for a Scrap of Solace in a Story of Ruin and a Mystery Baby” published in the Tampa Bay Times.The Article of the Year Award of $1,000 went to Rachel Janik, Northwestern University for her article titled “From ‘No Homo Promo’ to ‘Model for the Nation’ published in the Medill Equal Media Project.

Three finalists in the Photojournalism Championship, who will each receive $1,500 scholarships, are (listed in alphabetical order):Jabin Botsford, Western Kentucky University; Jillian Knight, Pennsylvania State University; Carolyn Van Houten, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The $1,000 Award for Best Single Photograph went to Carolyn Van Houten, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the Best Portfolio Award of $1,000 went to Susannah Kay, Ohio University. Those awards were selected from the semi-final portfolios.

Two finalists in the Radio Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive $1,500 scholarships, are (listed in alphabetical order):Nick Franck, Arizona State University; Michael Rodriguez, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Two finalists in the Television Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive $1,500 scholarships, are (listed in alphabetical order): Lorne Fultonberg, Syracuse University; Steven Gallo, University of Florida.

The $1,000 Award for Best Use of Radio For News Coverage went toJessica Murri, University of Montana.The Best Use of Television For News Coverage Award of $1,000 went to Lorne Fultonberg, Syracuse University. Those awards were selected from the monthly entries.

Two finalists in the Multimedia Championship, who will each receive $1,500 scholarships, are (listed in alphabetical order):Kathryn Carlson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Savannah Smith, Pennsylvania State University.The $1,000 Award for Best Multimedia Story of the Year went to Julia Wall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was selected from her monthly competition entry.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the Alexandra Ballroom of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.William Randolph Hearst III, President of the Board and Chair of the Journalism Awards Program, delivered the keynote speech of the evening.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation was established by its namesake in 1948 under California non-profit laws, exclusively for educational and charitable purposes.Since then, the Hearst Foundations have contributed $925 million to numerous educational programs, health and medical care, human services and the arts in every state.